Power dig deep late to outplay Giants in physical clash at Metricon Stadium
Port Adelaide’s final quarter push against GWS ensured Ken Hinkley’s 300th VFL/AFL game as a player and coach ended in victory – and reinforced its claim as a genuine premiership threat. WATCH KENNY SING THE SONG
Port Adelaide
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Port Adelaide’s day started with a 4:30am alarm and when the going got tough in the second half against GWS they found a way to fight off fatigue and any nagging doubts that they’re a top-four team and put them to bed.
One loss to Brisbane was all it took for some to question the Power’s premiership credentials last week, but they responded by beating the Giants for the first time since 2015 – prompting even coach Ken Hinkley to celebrate his AFL life membership in the middle of the circle for the team song.
WATCH KENNY SING THE SONG IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
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A 5:30am meeting at the club for a pre-dawn flight to the Gold Coast looked like catching up with them after halftime, but they powered away with a dominant final quarter to win by 17 points.
In a spiteful game that started with Brad Ebert being reported for his bump on Harry Perryman and continued with Shane Mumford’s rough-house tactics on Scott Lycett in the ruck and Aidan Corr pushing Todd Marshall’s face into the ground, the Power won where it mattered – on the scoreboard.
“I think we’re a good team, I think we’re getting to where we want to go and I think good teams respond and good teams win after they’ve had a poor performance … that’s really pleasing against quality opposition,” Power coach Ken Hinkley said.
“We’re on top of the ladder, we deserve to be on top of the ladder.”
The win was also a fitting celebration for Hinkley, who with his 165th game as Power coach became an AFL life member for notching up a combined 300 games as player and coach.
As his players walked off the ground, Hinkley stood at the doors inside the Metricon Stadium change rooms and high-fived each of them as they came inside.
The jovial players and his assistant coaches then pushed him into the middle of the circle as they belted out the Power’s song, cheering and clapping and dousing him in sports drinks.
Hinkley praised the performance of 21-year-old midfielder Kane Farrell who not only kicked a goal midway through the final term to pull the Power further in front, but he picked up 19 touches, laid six tackles and had two clearances.
He said his side was the better team for the best part of the day, despite the turnover-heavy play and uncharacteristic mistakes from the likes of Connor Rozee and Zak Butters.
“We gave the ball away 20 more times than they did and I thought our efficiency going forward really hurt us,” he said.
“To GWS’s credit they played a really strong third quarter and they are a great team, I think premiership favourites coming into this round, but I thought we really did control the game for large parts and we didn’t probably have that reflection on the scoreboard because we turned the ball over.
“(But overall) I was really proud of the way we played a really strong game of footy today.”
LIFT-OFF
For Dan Houston and Sam Powell-Pepper in the midfield and Kane Farrell in front of goal.
Powell-Pepper was their best with 22 disposals and he stood up in the last quarter with a crucial smother and goal.
With Tom Rockliff dropped and Ryan Burton back in defence, Houston got more midfield minutes and relished them with 16 disposals – 10 contested – in the first half and he finished with 22 for the day, while Farrell played arguably his best game for the club with 19 disposals, terrific forwardline pressure and a trademark long goal in the last term.
The only concern for the Power was its lack of forward connection in the first three quarters which made life for Charlie Dixon difficult.
PARTY POOPERS
It took a team effort to slow Toby Greene in the first half as he looked to celebrate his 150th game with a win.
Tom Jonas, Hamish Hartlett, Cam Sutcliffe and Darcy Byrne-Jones all spent time on him, but true to his class he found a way into the contest and helped spark the Giants’ comeback including a clever sideways pass to set up Jeremy Finlayson’s goal.
Greene finished with 21 disposals and a goal while Jeremy Cameron was their most dangerous forward with two goals, but the Giants couldn’t continue their momentum in the final term.
GRAY FINDS FORM
Connor Rozee and Robbie Gray had been uncharacteristically out of sorts in recent weeks, Gray with just two goals for the season and Rozee quiet when pushed out of the midfield.
But it took just two moments in the second quarter to remind everyone of their worth.
Gray kicked to Rozee who dropped the mark, but paddled the ball back into play and Gray got the one-two handball from Ebert for a goal.
Then minutes later Rozee danced around two Giants with class on the wing and set up Steven Motlop’s goal and Port’s two-goal halftime lead.
Gray went on-ball after halftime and finished with 13 disposals – all important – and three clearances.
PORT ADELAIDE 1.2 4.4 5.6 9.9 (63)
GWS 0.1 2.5 4.9 6.10 (46)
BEST – Port: Powell-Pepper, Houston, Jonas, Wines, Lycett, Farrell, Hartlett. GWS: Hopper, Whitfield, Perryman, Cameron, Greene.
GOALS – Port: Boak, Amon, Gray, Motlop, Dixon, Powell-Pepper, Farrell, Marshall Butters. GWS: Cameron 2, Greene, Whitfield, Finlayson, Ash.
INJURIES – Port: Sutcliffe (hamstring). GWS: Lloyd (concussion).
VOTES: 3: Sam Powell-Pepper (Port Adelaide); 2: Dan Houston (Port Adelaide); 1: Jacob Hopper (GWS).
EBERT REPORTED FOR GIANT BUMP
Port Adelaide veteran Brad Ebert will become the third player this weekend to come under scrutiny from the MRO for a hip and shoulder after being reported against GWS.
The 30-year-old bumped Giant Harry Perryman only minutes into the Sunday afternoon clash at Metricon Stadium and had his number taken by umpire Mathew Nicholls immediately, citing high contact as the reason.
Perryman lay prone for only a couple of seconds, before getting up and taking his free kick.
“Fortunately it was a glancing blow, as opposed to a full-on solid blow,” Hawthorn great and commentator Jason Dunstall said of the incident during the Fox Footy call.
“It was a silly thing to do because his eyes were on the man, not on the footy.
“I think he has to be extremely nervous, because the problem here is the ball is not in his focus.
Brad Ebert is on report for this contact with Harry Perryman in the opening term of #AFLPortGiants. pic.twitter.com/1cd7gbu69f
— AFL (@AFL) July 12, 2020
“If you look at his eyes, they appear to be on the man. Now, we’re only looking at that angle, it’s hard to tell.
“He had the arms out initially for the ball, then he takes the arm into his side and tucks it in for the hip and shoulder.
“So he makes a conscious decision to bump.”
Ebert’s hit comes after a bump from St Kilda’s Ben Long on Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy ended the Docker’s day – and will almost certainly see him spend time on the sidelines suspended – while Essendon’s Dylan Shiel also faces a nervous wait after collecting North Melbourne youngster Curtis Taylor with a high hip and shoulder.
GIANTS CRITICISED FOR LACK OF HUNGER IN POWER LOSS
– Reece Homfray
GWS coach Leon Cameron says his team “didn’t want it” enough to out-run Port Adelaide in the final quarter of their clash at Metricon Stadium on Sunday.
The Power led by just three points at three-quarter-time and looked tired but kicked four goals to the Giants’ two in the last term to win by 17 points.
“We just started to get some rhythm in the third quarter but let ourselves down in the last five minutes when we let them sneak back in front,” Cameron said.
“It was disappointing … realistically scores were about level at three-quarter-time and the game was up for grabs and we didn’t want it.
“Up until three-quarter-time it was an even battle but they put the foot down and dominated us in the last 15 minutes of the game.
“Credit to Port, the game was up for grabs, they took it, we didn’t, and we have to go back to the drawing board.
“We really rate Port as a footy club, they sit on top for a reason and we’re just a rung off the top sides at the moment.”
The Giants boss said key forward Jeremy Cameron battled on with a blood nose for much of the game and looked dangerous but lacked supply.
“I thought he fought the game out well, he split himself open but looked like one of our forwards who would have a stamp on the game but we only went inside 50 four or five times in the last quarter,” he said.
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Originally published as Power dig deep late to outplay Giants in physical clash at Metricon Stadium